06012020 1839

In this installation Alfredo Jaar meditates on the events of June 1 2020 six days after police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd a fortysixyearold Black man One of the many peaceful protests following Floyds death took place in Washington DCs Lafayette Square near the White House In order to facilitate a photo op for former President Donald Trump raising a Bible in front of St Johns Episcopal Church adjacent to Lafayette Square US Attorney General William Barr ordered federal forces to clear the area They subsequently fired on the peaceful protestors with tear gas stun grenades and rubber bullets They also flew two helicopters so low to the ground that the wind created by their rotors broke tree branches and scattered debris